


I Call You My Brothers - an LU Origin Story

by Legends_Trauma



Category: Linked Universe - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Warriors
Genre: Alternate Origin Story, Artemis (Linked Universe)- centric, F/M, Found Family, Gen, Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), Multi, Origin Story, Two Storylines, Warriors (Linked Universe)-centric, Wartemis
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-17
Updated: 2021-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-25 23:07:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30096525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Legends_Trauma/pseuds/Legends_Trauma
Summary: When an omen of disaster for Hyrule- not just in their era, but Hyrule across time- reaches Artemis, she and her Captain discover they must traverse eras once again to gather a force of heroes bearing the Spirit of Courage and Goddess Blood monarchs that can put an end to this darkness. Will Warriors ever be able to get all the chosen heroes to join together? Can Artemis take a group of princesses who know little of combat and convince them to be heroes themselves?Follow both Warriors and Artemis on two separate journeys to find the Links and Princesses Zelda, before reuniting to dispel the evil that faces them now as they struggle to save all of history a second time.
Relationships: Artemis & Warriors (Linked Universe), Artemis/Warriors (Linked Universe), Aurora/Hyrule (Linked Universe), Legend (Linked Universe)/Marin (Legend of Zelda), Legend (Linked Universe)/Marin (Legend of Zelda)/Ravio (Legend of Zelda), Legend (Linked Universe)/Ravio (Legend of Zelda), Link/Ravio (Legend of Zelda), Link/Zelda (Legend of Zelda), Malon (Legend of Zelda)/Time (Linked Universe), Midna (Legend of Zelda)/Twilight (Linked Universe), Tetra (Legend of Zelda) & Wind (Linked Universe)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 25





	I Call You My Brothers - an LU Origin Story

**Author's Note:**

> Chapter Summary:
> 
> Queen Zelda is awoken in the night by a vision of disaster for Hyrule. At daylight, she and her husband, the Captain of the Guard, Link ride off to the Temple of the Sacred Sword to met with the Guardian’s of Time and see what they can do to stop this darkness from befalling Hyrule.
> 
> How will this reunion with the twin sorceresses play out? And what will Link and his Artemis’ futures look like now?

Queen Zelda was roused abruptly from her sleep by a terrible nightmare. She sat up. Another bad omen, she thought to herself. But it isn’t just for us. The vision she had just seen had shown her doom across the ages and even in other worlds. 

A look of concern spread across her face. She and Link would have to save their land, and many others, once again. But. A glimmer of hope sparked in her heart. Her vision had also told her that she and her knight wouldn’t be alone.

“Arty,” a sleepy voice called her nickname. “Artemis.” She looked down at the knight laying by her side.

“Yes, my captain,” she replied, lying down again and looking him in the eyes with a smile. 

“Is something wrong?” he asked, pushing Zelda’s hair out of her face and tucking it behind her ear. “You look like you’ve just had another bad dream.” 

“I have,” she replied honestly. “But go back to sleep, my love. I’ll tell you in the morning.” She paused and then sighed. “It may be awhile before we get a chance to rest well again.” 

Link leaned in and kissed her softly, pulled her in to hold her, and he slept there with her in his arms until morning. Zelda would have cherished the opportunity to sleep there with him, but instead she lay awake, pondering what was to come.

*****

At daybreak the two of them were off on horseback rushing to the Temple of the Sacred Sword, which Zelda had seen in her vision. On their way, Link asked her about what she had seen.

“There was some great undistinguishable darkness,” she explained to him, still in shock from having received such an omen. “It swallowed all of Hyrule, but not just our Hyrule, the Hyrules we’ve seen before from different eras across time, and even Hyrules we’ve never seen.” She looked down at her horse, and ran her right hand through its soft white mane. They had faced adversity before but the impending doom still worried her.

Looking at her, lost in anxiety as she was, Link wished he could have carried this burden for her, or even simply seen the vision with her so she wouldn’t have had to face it alone. Still. Link knew she could. Zelda was strong. That’s why he called her Artemis, the goddess of the hunt. She was brave, wild, free. As much pain as he knew she was going through, he knew she would persist. She would conquer it. That’s just who Arty was.

“So,” he asked. “We’re going to retrieve the sacred sword?” She looked up and smiled at him.

“No,” she replied. “We’re going to retrieve help.” Remembering again that they were not alone allowed Zelda to calm herself again and regain composure. “The vision showed me two portals opening in the Temple. I prayed to the gods last night that if they were not yet open, would the gods send Time’s Guardians to open them for us, and I have faith that when we arrive the twin guardians will already be there.”

Link swallowed hard. The Guardians of Time. He wasn’t sure he truly felt ready to see them again. Every time they had encountered Cia, something bothered him. She scared him. Not in a way that made him worry about his safety. The sorceress was strong, but he could handle himself. She scared him because she had single handedly started the War Across the Ages, simply because of her love for him, a so-called love that went so deep it became an obsession with his soul. Her starting the war because of him, only made Link blame every casualty on himself, to the point where it became too much to bear. Lana, Cia’s twin counterpart, was kindhearted and honestly very lovely, and had helped them fight back against Cia and destroy Ganon. Regarding Lana, Link simply felt like a disappointment. He knew that she loved him too. That much was the same between the guardians. However, he also knew that she was aware her love was unrequited, and his recent marriage to Zelda must’ve broken her heart. Link tried to prepare himself mentally to face the Guardians of Time, but being so near to either of them would’ve made him feel insufferable guilt, being next to both was about to be a wild ride.

And Arty had been right, as she always was, they caught a glimpse of Time’s Guardians in the distance as they approached the Temple. Feelings of nostalgia overwhelmed the couple as they rode towards the ornate marble building. They had so many memories regarding this place. Memories of war and of peace. The last time they had set foot here was to return the blade of evil’s bane to its proper home, an event that signified the beginning of a new era of peace and prosperity for Hyrule. If they did not act quickly, that peace they fought so diligently for would be broken. Zelda looked at her husband with some concern in her eyes.

“Are you going to be ok?” She asked him, getting right to the point as she was prone to do. “The war did not leave your heart unscathed, love, and I worry about what anxieties you must be feeling right now.” He sighed. Certainly, this was difficult for him, but he was far from being the only one with burdens. Here Zelda was carrying the knowledge of an impending evil, having been the only soul to witness the omen that forewarned them, and she was worried about him? He had to assure her that everything would be just fine, even if it would not. He gave her one of his million dollar smiles.

“I’ll be fine,” the Captain replied. “We do what we must for Hyrule, for our kingdom.” 

Our kingdom. Zelda smiled. She liked the sound of that. It reminded her she was not alone.

They reached the temple soon after and dismounted their horses. Making their way into the building, Artemis holding her Captain’s hand, they each took a deep breath. The beginning of another adventure. They walked through the Temple, making their way to the furthest chamber, the room where the Sacred Sword dwelt. Inside, the twin guardians awaited them draped in matching white gowns.

“Cia! Lana!” The Queen cried and she let go of her husband’s hand and ran over to embrace the other two women. “It’s been far too long. I trust you are well?”

“As well as one can be amidst this many tears being made in the fabric of Time,” Cia replied almost sourly and with great exhaustion in her voice, but she did not reject Zelda’s embrace, for in all honesty, she felt entirely blessed by the Queen’s mercy. Sure, Ganondorf- no, that was wrong, Demise- had manipulated her actions during the war, but so much of the terror she caused had been of her own free will. She certainly didn’t feel that she deserved Zelda’s friendship.

“To be very honest with you, we were glad to see that the two of you had taken note of the disturbance,” Lana explained. “We feel far more comfortable sending you out to lead the efforts than sending any other heroes in your place. You have more experience traversing eras than any of the others do.”

“Hold on,” Link spoke up. “Others?”

“I saw them in my vision,” Zelda muttered. “Only briefly, but I was made aware that we wouldn’t be fighting this evil on our own. So who are they?”

Cia and Lana exchanged glances. Cia seemed troubled but Lana sent a reassuring smile her way before nodding and urging her on. Cia lifted her hand and projected magic into the air, suddenly a vision danced above them, a vision of eight heroes or rather silhouettes of heroes. She stepped forward and directed the Captain and Queen’s attention to the figures above.

“The Spirit of the Hero of Courage, the Hero’s Soul, Hylia’s Chosen Knight, a Fierce Deity incarnate, endowed by the power of the youngest Golden Goddess, Farore, goddess of wisdom and of courage,” the sorceress began her explanation. “The Hero’s Soul is bound by an eternal curse set by the god of all primal evil Demise. The curse states that this hero, stronger than any man or demon, will be reborn again and again in human flesh and forced to endure a dark and blood stained future in every incarnation as punishment for saving the goddess Hylia from Demise’s clutches.” She paused and directed a glance towards Zelda. “The goddess too, is bound by this curse.” Cia took a deep breath and continued.

“Before you stand eight incarnations of this Hero’s Spirit. There are more, but these eight are those who will be vital to your quest. The first is the Chosen Hero, the very one who saved Hylia and witnessed this curse being placed first hand. There is one mortal incarnation of the Fierce Deity Oni before him, pledged also the service of Hylia, but his service was outside the bounds of this curse and thus, we will begin with the Chosen.” Link and Zelda nodded hanging on every word. This information was of highest importance and they doubted they would hear it more than once. 

“The next hero…” Cia paused as if to ponder how much she really ought to say. “The next is the Hero of the Four Sword, whose primary enemy was not Demise but another demon who sought godly power. Before him came the Hero of Men who fought in opposition to a similar evil. You will have no need for the Hero of Men, but this hero will be essential to you. Following him is the Hero of Time, with whom I believe you are familiar.” The Captain smiled, remembering the kid he had run into during the war those few years ago- how the boy had insisted he tag along with the army, and what surprising power with which he had assisted them in battle on more than one occasion.

“I am,” Link responded.

“I too am familiar with the era from which he comes,” stated Zelda. “I had visions of it in my childhood, which I often recounted to Impa. During the war, I ended up in his era myself. The princess of his age has long been one of my greatest motivations as both a ruler and a war lady.”

“Good,” Lana commented with a smile. “That will only help you on the journey ahead.”

“The Hero of Time is a bit of an anomaly in history,” Cia continued with further explanation. “His actions changed the very fabric of time, allowing history to split into three futures.”

“Three?” The Captain asked.

“A time traveler himself, one path of history recounts that he stayed in the future he had saved only to later disappear somewhere on his own. In this history, evil reigns over Hyrule until the Golden Goddesses must intervene, which they rarely do, and they flood the earth, saving only a select few who repopulate the world. From this timeline, comes the next hero incarnate, the Hero of the Wind, traversing both land and sea to save his princess from Demise’s plot. You recall Wind and Tetra?”

“I do.”

“Good. Be wary, they will not recall you, but be loyal to them, their future’s will affect your own pasts. After them comes another hero and princess, their grandchildren, however-”

“We will have no need for them?” the Captain asked with a smirk. Cia chuckled softly and smiled back.

“Precisely,” she said. “In a second history, the Hero of Time returns to his childhood and eventually saves yet another land where he is granted immense power. This is the Hero of Time you know, and who you will find again. I recognize your closeness to him, but do show caution, he is the hero with the closest ties to the Fierce Deity’s glorified being, and his destructive power is infinite.” Link nodded. He had only seen the kid use it once, but there was a time on the battlefield that the boy resulted to magic use of a questionable nature. He changed forms into a creature that wreaked havoc across the field, and even after he had returned to his own form, he was near dying of exhaustion and scared- horribly terrified. There was no question. That must have been the Fierce Deity Oni, and there was no way the Captain would ever let the kid use that power again.

“After he passes on,” Cia continued. “His wife dies in childbirth. Their son takes up the torch as the next bearer of the Hero’s Soul, saving his Hyrule from being entirely overcome by shadows and twilight.”

“Midna’s era,” Zelda whispered. Lana nodded to her.

“That hero later travels far into the future himself to aid another bearer of the same Spirit, who I will get to momentarily. First, you must be aware of the third history which is inevitably the hardest to bear both for the heroes born into it and for all Hyrule.” Link raised an eyebrow.

“What happens to the Hero of Time in the third timeline?” he asked. Cia sighed. She didn’t want to tell him, but he had to know.

“He dies,” she answered truthfully. “Ganondorf, Demise in human flesh, kills the hero as a child before he ever makes it to the future he was born to protect.” Something in the Captain’s stomach turned. It was entirely sick. Disgusting that someone could murder a child in cold blood like that, even if said child had been one’s mortal enemy. It was only right to wait and let him put up a fair fight, but then again, Link doubted the god of primal evil cared much at all about fairness. At this his blood began to boil. “In this history, Ganondorf makes it into the Sacred Realm and secures the Triforce, and Seven Sages emerge with the Goddess Blood Princess to seal Demise’s entity in that Sacred Realm without the hero’s aid, tainting the heavenlies, and turning that realm into a Dark World after Demise’s image where his power dwells. With its Sacred Realm in the state it is, Hyrule begins to fall apart and the three Golden Goddesses set foot on earth, taking the appearance of mortals yet retaining immortality and acting as oracles for themselves.”

“The next hero,” Cia continued. “Went on several quests, across not only Hyrule, but other lands and even other worlds. He dispelled the evil in the Dark World, and even met these Golden Goddesses firsthand. This is the Hero of Light who would be called The Hero of Legend by Nayru herself, when she prophesied that he would be the greatest of every bearer of the Spirit of the Hero of Courage. But despite his efforts, victories, and acclaim, Hyrule’s downfall as a kingdom due to having lacked its sacred realm for so long was inevitable, and the kingdom continued to collapse, reaching its peak of devastation before the Hero of Legend died of old age.”

“That sounds heartbreaking,” commented the Queen. “Being forced to watch the world one worked so hard to save fall into ruin.” 

“That is perhaps why the goddesses allowed the hero so much acclaim,” Lana responded. “Though we cannot truly know the hearts of the goddesses, it is noteworthy that the hero to whom they granted the most glory and victory would inevitably be unable to save his own homeland. Perhaps that too is why they endeared him to other lands as well. In their sovereign grace.”

“The way I see it,” Cia disagreed. “There is very little grace given to a hero bound by a curse which only yields suffering eternally. The Golden Goddesses have little interest in what happens below save maintaining the balance of the world. Why else would Din’s power be on Demise’s side? Why not aid her own sister, Hylia? The three are not for the hero nor the princess nor Demise. They seek only balance.” They all sat quiet in the temple for a moment. Before Cia broke the silence. “Yet we,” she said. “We seek more than balance. Though you and I, Lana, are in balance ourselves, we seek a day where darkness no longer taints the future of Hyrule, where more than bloodshed awaits the Hero’s Spirit. Though once I sought that soul eternally steeped in darkness, now we look in hope towards light. To end this curse and break the cycle, so that neither the hero nor Hylia must suffer under Demise any longer!” 

Zelda parted her lips and let out a sigh. This entire change of heart came as a shock to her. This was not the Cia they once knew. That Cia had held nothing but resent towards her, but this Cia stood here pouring out her heart, hopeful for the safety of Zelda’s own soul. The Queen walked towards her slowly and threw her arms around Time’s Guardian, pulling her into a warm embrace, she kissed her on the cheek. Awkwardly, the sorceress returned the gesture, but soon sunk comfortably into the hug.

“Thank you,” the Queen whispered. 

“Your Highness, I swear to you,” Cia whispered back. “Though all of heaven may one day be against you, the Guardians of Time stand ever on your side.”

Something about this sight, his wife embracing Cia, gave the Captain a bit of peace of mind. Certainly, this situation still had him more anxious than he nearly ever was. Going through this list of heroes and staring at the silhouettes above him reminded him far too much of storming Cia’s home during the war, catching sight of statues and paintings of him and these other incarnations of him he hadn’t even known existed, statues even of the kid, a child. The memory made him uncomfortable. It hurt him, but he had to push through it if he wanted to save Hyrule again, and if he wanted to be as strong as Artemis was. What did his night terrors have on hers after all? He tried to tuck his feelings away, and maybe reminding himself that the sorceress was now their ally was a good way to pretend he could forget that pain. 

If his wife could’ve heard his thoughts then, she would’ve smacked him. Comparing his trauma to her visions was hardly fair, and she would not have allowed him to continue to bear the anxiety of being trapped in a room with someone who triggered him so if only she knew how triggering it was to him. Still, it was perhaps for the better that the Captain stayed, because at least discussing the matter at hand occupied his brain whereas sitting in a hall in the temple alone might’ve only made his situation worse, given that his mind could wander towards any sort of terrible thing.

Soon, the explanation of the heroes resumed, so as to not waste any time. This was essentially a War Council of sorts, and urgency was necessary.

“Two heroes remain out of those who will join you,” continued the sorceress. “The next is known only as the Hero of Hyrule. A wanderer and a traveler in his era, simply doing what he can to survive a disheveled Hyrule, you could almost say he saved the world quite by accident, but don’t be mistaken, his courage, heroism, and kindness are far reaching and he is worthy of his title, especially considering that he usurped Demise’s plans not once but twice. He is also very close to his Zelda and very fond of her, this may be helpful information to you when it comes to convincing him to join your ranks.”

“We must persuade each of them?” Zelda asked curiously. She had assumed each would already have been aware of the impending battle as she and her Captain were and would readily join. Perhaps, she assumed wrongly.

“Some will no doubt be eager to help you,” Lana answered with a smile. “Others will be harder to convince. It is important that each and every one of these eight joins you. However, we have certainty that they will, so you needn’t worry. We have caught a glimpse in time where you will all stand together.” Zelda nodded. That was confirmation enough for her. “It has been hard for us to locate exact details on how your quest will play out, since the lot of you will be traversing quite a bit of history, but we have hope that your victory will come, we only know not how it may come.”

“Alright then, who is the last hero?” Link asked readily. It seemed this briefing was coming to a close and the adventure only beginning.

“The last is the Hero of the Wild, who in some ways ties a bit of a bow in history and in other ways tends to unravel it. This is he who will know the Hero of Twilight. What effect he has on his future is information that is of very little use to you so I will not waste time on an explanation. All you must know is that no matter what turns history takes it all eventually leads to the Hero of the Wild, who is thousands of years separated from the rest. There are in reality two Heroes of the Wild. This is, again, irrelevant. The one you will have with you was a knight in service to the princess of Hyrule and appointed specifically to oppose a Great Calamity alongside her. This catastrophe was an extreme effort from Demise to destroy a kingdom that had only just recently built back once and for all. This hero failed to save his land the first time around, being mortally wounded and leaving Demise to be dealt with by the Princess. He fell unconscious for a hundred years before emerging once again and saving Hyrule from utter destruction. These eight heroes. You have the task of gathering them to oppose whatever darkness now threatens the land. Be certain you do not relay any of this information to them, Link. It could alter their futures, dramatically.”

“You speak as if I will not accompany him,” Zelda pondered aloud.

“You have another task, Your Highness,” Lana replied. “Each of these heroes would have failed had they not a Goddess-Blood princess on their side. In more than one case, it was the princess who saved Hyrule and not the Chosen One. Therefore, we deem it necessary to gather the Goddess Bloods as well. The eight from each of the same eras as the heroes Link will assemble. The only one capable of convincing these rulers to aid us in this fight is you. There are few access points into any era if you hope not to arouse any suspicion. The ones we have pinpointed for you to travel through end up with the hero and princess in two different locations in every case but one. It is essential then, that for the time being we divide and conquer, but fear not. You will be reunited to one another.” 

Zelda and Link exchanged glances before silently coming to an agreement. They would do what must be done. Divide and Conquer.

“Cia will prepare the portals now, while I brief you on each of the monarchs, so as to not waste a second, if that is ok,” responded Lana after she was sure they had reached a consensus.

“That will be perfect,” Zelda replied.

“Good. I should warn you most of them are not warriors like yourself.”

After about an hour, Link and Zelda stood in front of two deep purple portals, reminiscent of their past. Looking into one another’s eyes they each held both of the other’s hands in their own.

“I’ll see you soon, Artemis,” the Captain promised. “I know I will. Be safe.”

“You know I will,” Arty replied. “I always am. Still, offer your prayers to the goddess for me, and do not do anything reckless, my Captain.”

“You have my word.” He leaned down and kissed her hard, wrapping her waist in his arms, unsure how long it would be before they met again. Her left arm anchored itself around his neck and her right settled in place on his chest and she returned his kiss. When she did pull away, she raised her right hand to his face and gave him a smile. They both looked towards the portals before them, then back to one another before they separated. “Guess we’re off on another adventure, Arty,” he said with his token smile. “Life’s certainly never dull with you.” She laughed.

“I’ll see you soon, love.” He nodded.

“Alright then, on the count of three. One… Two… Three!” With that they each jumped through their respective portals leaving the twin guardians in the silent temple.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for checking out my first longer project “I Call You My Brothers”! As always, feel free to tag me in any arts and check out my shorter projects as well. I’ll be updating as often as I get the chance, though be warned I am a uni student so it may be a bit sporadic. Thanks again for your support!


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